I am on year four of sending kids to college. My oldest is a senior, my middle son will be a sophomore. I have learned a few valuable lessons I hope will make the transition easier for you. 1. Bring tissue. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, besides birthing my kids, is letting…

Want your children to become perfect little angels who never argue and do everything you tell them to do? Yes? Then don’t have children. But. The contract below will get you closer to that lack of reality. With just a few weeks left until school starts, we will begin the mad dash of getting the paperwork filled…

I have always thought sleepovers were a right of childhood passage. What could be more fun than ditching your dorky parents for your besties’ cool ones? Snuggling into bed at night with a friend next to you and staying up half the night talking, the stuff of childhood memories. I have allowed my boys to…

For those of you like me who have college students one of the scariest things about them being away from home is trusting them with their own medical care. My boys are notorious for paying zero to no attention to their bodies when they are sick. With so many social obligations who has time to…

Those hard to buy for teens don’t make it easy on us. Us: “What do you want for Christmas?” Them: “I don’t know.” Us: “Thanks for the help.” They are no help, but MomSmack is! Some great gift ideas in all price ranges for the hard to buy for teen! If you click the photo below…

Noah experienced his first concussion last month. It was a scary and bizarre experience and not at all how I expected it would be. I have always been afraid of concussions. My kids have played both football and lacrosse since they were young. Bones have been broken, by the truckload. Yet, somehow until last month, we…

I’ve been doing this parenting teen thing now for six years. I am no expert. There is no such thing. Every teen is different. My two boys are so opposite I am convinced they are a different species. How I parented one was completely opposite of how I parented the other as a teen. They,…

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Ricola®. My love and my boys love of their soothing relief swiss herb drops are all ours! It’s fall and the kids have been at college for over two months. Time to send some love from home. Fall is for Halloween, treats and cold and flu season. October is…

One the hardest things for a parent to do is to speak to their child of the evils of the world. It’s far harder to send them out into it, knowing that at some point, they will be witness or subject to some form of discrimination or violence. Unfortunately, we can’t shelter our children forever — the…

What will you talk to your kids about tonight at dinner? Listening and talking are learned behaviors. How your children will communicate with others and you is something they are learning from you. Are you talking with and listening to them every day? About things that don’t matter, not just peppering them with questions? Is…